


Unconventional Observation

by LorelyLantana



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:00:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28422849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LorelyLantana/pseuds/LorelyLantana
Summary: Zelda's quality of life takes a severe turn for the worse when not only does her father ban her from researching ancient technology, but does so shortly after assigning the detestable Hylian Champion as her guard. Not only is she forced to spend nearly every waking hour with the one person she hates the most, but the typical outlet for her frustrations is lost to her.Luckily, Zelda has a new research project in mind, and Link is a perfect candidate for the study.
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 80





	Unconventional Observation

**Author's Note:**

> @intangiblyyourswrites put up a Thirsty and in Denial prompt on Tumblr, which called me to write this mess, so without further ado, enjoy!

Zelda slipped into the bath with a sigh, letting the first quiet moment of the day calm her thoughts. Her skin burned, the roots of the chill born from Satori’s waters still hooked around her bones. A lingering bitterness leftover from the source of her desolation. Zelda was sent to the southern mountain to pray beneath the cherry tree, intending to spend three days training there. Unfortunately the trip had to be cut short when she lost consciousness when the first night fell.

Her father had flown into a rage when he’d heard of her failure atop the shining peak. The mountaintop pond was in the south, yet it was proven to be the most unforgiving waters Zelda had set foot in. She ended up succumbing to the cold, the last thing she remembered was the shock that came when she fell back into the frigid water. Though she had no real recollection of the journey back to Hyrule Castle, the halls echoed with eyewitness accounts of how the Hylian Champion charged through the streets with a shivering princess in his arms. When she awoke in her own bed a day later she was promptly told to meet with the king in the Sanctum, where he wasted no time berating her for the break in her resolve. In order to prevent further carelessness, the king ordered any access the princess had to ancient relics be revoked, so that her sole focus would be her training.

Zelda curled in on herself in a pitiful imitation of a hug, shivering as the last of the cold held onto her with a vengeance. Then the water’s warmth won out, and she could relax. She stretched out, resting her head against the lip of the tub. The last shivers left her and she was alone with her peace, waiting until her fingertips and toes were warm before finally getting to work.

She reached for the first in a great collection of oils, soaps, razors and shampoos. If asked, Zelda would admit that the amount of cosmetic products was absurd, but she felt they were necessary. As the years passed and the pressure weighed heavy on her shoulders, her evening routine became one of the last bastions of peace in her life. It was a ritual that reminded her that yes, Zelda was worthy of care, even if it came from herself. There was also the reality that bathing was one of precious few things she could indulge in safely now that her father ordered all Zelda's research cease. Strict as he was, even the King couldn’t order his daughter to compromise her hygienic standards, so she was free to wash away her worries, if only for a moment.

As serene as she was in her bath, Zelda knew that it was only temporary. She wasn’t sure how well she could function now that one of her essential coping mechanisms was ripped away from her. Even as she relished in these cherished moments away from prying eyes, she relied on her research to boost her ego. Having a puzzle she could solve was her only defense against that crippling impotence leveraged against her on a daily basis. 

The tenuous peace she had achieved shattered when a knock rattled against the door. Zelda hauled herself up with a growl, snatching a towel from the rack, roughly dragging it over her body before donning a robe. She dropped the towel over her shoulders as she walked toward the door to let him in, but he only stood there. In her rush she’d tied her robe a tad loose, leaving an unprecedented amount of skin visible to someone else’s gaze. Her face flushed at the cool air brushing against her stomach but she refused to let him win by reacting to his unflinching gaze.

“Well don’t just stand there,” she snapped, “finish your silly rounds and be done with it!”

He didn’t say a word because he never did, only brushing past her to check for whatever threats might jump out from between the cushions or slither out from under the bed. She sniffed, resolutely continuing on with her nightly routine, which at the moment meant applying lotion before retreating behind her screen to put on her nightgown.

Zelda was lathering the cream on the tops of her thighs when she noticed that her knight had stopped moving, quite unusual during his nightly rounds. Stranger still, he was looking at her, but not at her face, as always. No, he was fixated on her legs, right where her hands were rubbing in the lotion. What interested her the most, however, was the change to his face. Never in her service had he deigned to emote in any way, yet here, swathed in candlelight, Zelda noticed his eyebrows drawn together. She wouldn’t call it glare, but he was focused, transfixed, and if she didn’t know better, wanting. 

Zelda felt like a doe in the eyes of a wolf, but the thrill running through her wasn’t enough to move her gaze away from his face. She was determined to know what could possibly break her knight’s aggravating composure. Her apathetic silence succeeded where words had failed, drawing forth a reaction from her stalwart attendant. He must have noticed her hands stopped moving, because in an instant he was closed off again, blue eyes tearing from her thighs to look into hers. His expression was blank once more, but he couldn’t stop the blush spreading across his cheeks. She heard him suck in a breath, watched his throat as he swallowed, spun on his heel and left without his standard bow. 

How odd.

She slipped into her nightgown, shivering as the cool silk ran down her body, the teasing caress calling the look on her knight’s face to her mind. Zelda felt a heat spread throughout her body from a cinder burning low in her stomach. She spent the better part of an hour twisting in her sheets, trying to name this feeling that flared up so suddenly. 

This thrill wasn’t completely unfamiliar. Zelda had the distinct impression that she’d felt wisps and traces of it before, but never this insistent, pulsing throb in her stomach. All of this because of a single change in her hated knight, it was confounding.

Zelda sat up, sliding her legs from under the covers. Of course! That’s what this feeling was! She hurried to her desk and rummaged around in the drawers of her writing desk, setting a blank journal on her desk. Opening to a blank page, she began to record every painstaking detail of the anomaly she could recall, from his uncharacteristically hurried departure to the blush on his cheeks. Recalling the look in his eyes added fuel to the burning curiosity inside her. She may have lost access to ancient technology, but she had a far more interesting subject to study.

If she couldn’t uncover the secrets of the past, she would delve into the mysteries of the present, and none were so enigmatic as her knight, whom she’d just witnessed lower his guard. It was a small, brief change, but she was confident in her abilities as a scientist, and she would crack him open until she knew just how he ticked. 

Who knows, perhaps this new line of questioning would have practical applications as well.


End file.
